Latest Articles

the collapsible woman—one model of mental health for an uncountable number of individuals. She is too weak to hear debate, too soft to speak openly about her experience, and too fragile to expect much from. This definition doesn't come close to accounting for the grit and character that can be found among us. Instead, it paints us as humorless and diluted, and bears an uncanny resemblance to...

we've taken a lot of shit from people who don't like our name: readers who wonder why we've chosen an epithet to grace our covers, friends and family who took a year or two to be able to say it out loud (although they're all incredibly supportive now, thank you very much), well-meaning folks who suggest that a simple name change might allow us to rake in the clams, people we meet at cocktail...

It's a refrain we're sick and tired of hearing: Feminism doesn't speak to young women. Girls just aren't interested in feminism. Self-proclaimed feminists lament it; non-feminists think it proves that feminism is not only unimportant, but outdated. This simplification of the concerns of girls may make for a good sound bite, but it begs for some serious examination.

When I told people that this issue of Bitch was going to be devoted entirely to sex, the most common response was a sarcastic, "Oh, you mean as opposed to what all the other ones were about?" It's true that we tend to spill a lot of ink about sex—and so I started to think about why.

Sex is a favorite topic almost everywhere—but within the feminist movement, we don't seem to...

Here's to Roseanne's succinct feminist history lesson...Seventeen is actually giving good advice these days. Question: "I masturbate often. Am I normal?" Answer: "Completely normal...3rd Rock from the Sun may be a wholly silly show that underuses the comic talents of Jane Curtin and overuses the familiar aliens-on-earth premise...
We never thought we'd see a classic of...

“So now you can eat like one of the boys, but still look like one of the girls,” says the male voice-over touting Baked Lays potato chips while supermodels stuff their faces on screen…
Oh, boys, did you know—Twix bars are the new way to get rid of those pesky, materialistic, shallow, shopping-obsessed females in your life…
Eating is a masculine activity, part two: Wendy’s Big...

Irony of the month: While the Editor’s Letter says, “Shut up and eat,” and bemoans the fact that women are always “self-surveilling” their caloric intake, the mag gives information about: “Aromatrim” products (you smell them and they make you eat less); a new diet pill; “liposhaving” (you can guess what that is).

…
but to other perceptive and right-on readers who are as upset as we are about the changes. And guess what?
The editors are defensive as hell.

Here’s what the readers are saying in their so-called “hate mail”: “I cannot tell you how much your changes SUCK!!” “I feel compelled to express my copious fascination/horror/disgust with your new and ‘improved’ magazine.” “Don...

Talk shows are the scariest thing on the planet today. You think I’m exaggerating, don’t you? Think about it: not only are they the lowest common denominator of American pop culture, but they’re also—because they’re in the form of “real” people talking about their “real” lives—taken to be some measure of truth.

Wish there were more kick-ass female characters in the movies? Enough with The Piano-esqe mute-is-powerful bullshit. Sometimes you can find feminism in the most unlikely places, like action movies and Freaky Friday-like comedies.

Batman II

Why isn’t this movie called Catwoman?In a classic reduction of any women’s issue—the lack of great film roles...